Hall of Fame 2013: The first-time candidates

The notable baseball players who will be on the ballot for the first time, and could be elected to Cooperstown in 2013.

Storified by Digital First Media · Wed, Nov 28 2012 12:25:56

On Wednesday, the Baseball Writers' Association of America distributed ballots for the Baseball Hall of Fame's class of 2013. In order to be elected to the Hall, a player must get at least 75 percent of the vote.

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In 2012, the lone Hall of Fame inductee was Barry Larkin, who earned 86 percent of the writers' vote.

This year, there are 28 eligible first-year candidates, who have played for 10 years or more, with the final game played in the 2007 season. Here are the players, chosen in order of the likelihood of their induction.

The locks

The big question is not whether or not Mike Piazza is inducted to the Hall of Fame, but what hat he should wear. Piazza was named the rookie of the year in 1993. He holds a lifetime .308 average, with nine consecutive seasons batting over .300. Piazza holds the record for most home runs hit as a catcher. For New Yorkers, none of his 427 home runs will be more important than the one hit on Sept. 21, 2001. In the eighth inning of the first sporting event in New York City after the September 11th attacks, Piazza hit a two-run home run to give the Mets a 3-2 lead against the Atlanta Braves, which would hold up.

Mike Piazza's post 9/11 HomeRunyoungguru2000

Mike Piazza home run after 9/11 an @mets #classicSean Boudreau

Watching Mike Piazza hit the home run at Shea after 9/11 will always give me chillsMark

Quick, name the first-time candidate who had over 3,000 hits in his career.

Wikimedia

Craig BiggioGet complete career stats for second baseman Craig Biggio on ESPN.com

Craig Biggio's 3,060 hits puts him 21st on the all-time list. He's the only player to have 3,000 hits, 600 doubles, 250 home runs and 400 stolen bases in his career.

Biggio anchored the top of the Houston Astros lineup during Houston's best stretch in team history. In the middle of the 1990s, the Astros, led by Biggio, began their dominance of the NL Central.

He was a grinder, averaging 142 games per season during his 20-year career. During that span, he also earned four Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards. In 2005, his Astros made the World Series for the first time in Houston's history. His number is retired by the Astros.

Craig Biggio 3000krypto1

Piazza and Biggio are both locks for the Hall.

The possible

Curt Schilling didn't reach one of the big milestones; while he surpassed 3,000 strikeouts, his 216 wins are nowhere close to the 300 wins that would make a pitcher a Hall of Fame lock. However, what Schilling does have is an 11-2 record in the postseason, and three World Series rings in four appearances. He was the co-MVP of the 2001 World Series. And, if he is elected to the Hall, he'll most likely be right next to his famous bloody sock.

The asterisks

There are three first-time eligibles who have come to be more associated with alleged steroid use than their actual stats on the field. And like Mark McGwire, who has been on the ballot for six years and in 2012 garnered only 20 percent of the vote, they will have a tough time getting in.

Usatoday

Barry Bonds is the man who hit more home runs than any other player in major league baseball history. But Bonds, the baseball player, may be less likely to be remembered by today's media than Barry Bonds, the accused steroid user. Or Barry Bonds, the defendant in a perjury case resulting from his testimony in the case of a drug company accused of supplying steroids to Major League Baseball players, including Bonds himself.

Turner

(Photos: AP)

Prior to 2001, Barry Bonds had a name for himself. He was a perpetual 30-30 machine. And then, in 2001, something happened. The man who hit between 30 and 40 home runs a season had already hit 40 in the middle of July. He kept hitting more and more home runs. In September, he hit home run number 71, giving him a number that surpassed McGwire's 70 home runs in a season -- a record held for only three years.

Sammy Sosa is one of eight players who have hit more than 600 home runs. In 1998, he hit 66 home runs (four behind McGwire's then-record season, but still more than the 61 home runs that set the standard for 37 years). He was the all-time home run leader for the Chicago Cubs. But Sosa will be tainted for his alleged 2003 failed drug test, which was uncovered in 2009.

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(Photo: AP)

Roger Clemens, who earned 354 wins, pitched 118 complete games and struck out 4,672 major league batters, is eligible for the first time but most likely will not be going to Cooperstown this year. He, just like Bonds, was at the pinnacle of his career. But then, he, too was linked to perjury.

Roger clemens congressional hearing (HQ).amazing7446

Two trials later, Clemens was not found guilty of committing perjury in his testimony to Congress. But in the court of public opinion, Clemens, as well as Bonds, have been tainted. It's doubtful that Clemens, Bonds or Sosa will be speaking at the Hall of Fame ceremony this summer.